Indian Panorama to open with 'Poltodcho Munis' at IFFI

Panaji, Nov 4 : Konkani film 'Poltodcho Munis' (Man beyond the bridge), directed by Laxmikant Shetgaonkar, will be the opening movie in the Indian Panorama section at the the 40th edition of the 11-day International Film Festival of India (IFFI) commencing here from November 23.

The film is about a gentle romance set in the Western Ghats and portraying the story of a forest guard.

The Film had won the 'Discovery Award' at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2009.

The story revolves around Vinayak, the forest guard who lives a lonely life, with just the memories of his dead wife in a Government house in the dense forests of Goa-Karnataka border. His repeatedly rejected pleas for a transfer by his superiors in the Department of Forests have left him bitter.

One night, he comes across a filthy, unkempt mentally challenged woman lying in the compound outside his house. He drives her away but she keeps returning.

From his initial irritation with her filthy appearance and irate behavior, he slowly gets used to her daily visits looking for food and sleeping in the courtyard. With time, he begins to derive comfort from her presence.

Vinayak's growing relationship with the woman attracts a strong protest in the village. The villagers question Vinayak's right over mentally challenged and helpless woman. They maintain that his relationship is morally incorrect and should be ended. However, for Vinayak, the woman is his companion and to be the mother of his child and there is no dilemma in his mind over this. Thus begins a conflict between a society that refuses to take responsibility of such a woman and one man's endeavour to integrate her in his life.

Produced by National Film Development Corporatioon, the film's cast included Chittaranjan Giri, Veena Jamkar, Prashanti Talpankar and Vasant Josalkar. The music is by Ved Nair, sound by Rajendra Hegde, cinematography by Arup Mandal and edited by Sankalp Meshram.

The executive producer of the film is Entertainment Network of Goa.

Born in Goa, director Laxmikant Shetgaonkar has received critical acclaim for his sensitive portrayal of social reality through fiction and documentaries. An experimental theatre personality he moved into films with his critically acclaimed documentary film ''A Seaside Story''.

The film was part of Indian Panorama 2005. He won the National Award for Best Debut Non-feature Film at the 52nd National Film Awards. He has received two National Awards and a Golden Conch at the Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF) organised by the Films Division.

--UNI

(c) 2009 Published with permission from United News of India.
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